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Tuesday, August 24, 2010

1) ProdromeThe symptoms of the prodrome phase typically occurs hours or days prior to the actual onset of headache pain. Prodrome symptoms can include:

Fatigue or excessive sleepiness

Frequent yawning

Altered mood

Irritability

Depression or euphoria

Muscle stiffness (especially in the neck, back and face)

Food cravings

Difficulty concentrating

2) Aura
Not all migraineurs experience an aura preceding or accompanying the actual headache pain. The aura phase typically begins minutes or hours prior to the onset of headache pain. Aura can be visual, sensory, or motor in nature. Visual symptoms include:

Blurred vision

Appearance of floaters (tiny specks that float before the eyes)

Flashes of light or color

A blind spot or even complete blindness in one eye

Double vision

Sensory and motor symptoms include:

Numbness or tingling of the hands, feet, and/or face

Stiff neck

Weakness

Vertigo or Dizziness

Loss of balance

Ringing in the ears

Difficulty talking

Slow thinking or confusion

Problems with concentration

Changes in mood and activity level

Hypersensitivity to touch

3) Headache
This phase is the experience of the headache pain. For some, the pain is a one-sided, throbbing or pounding pain. For others, the pain is all over the head. The migraine pain typically lasts between 4 to 72 hours. "Status migrainosus" are headaches that last longer than 72 hours, and require immediate medical attention. This is the most disruptive of the phases, and migraineurs often stop all activity and remove themselves from certain triggers (light, sound, odors). The headache phase often includes the pulsing / throbbing head pain, as well as some other symptoms, including:

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